Neighbourhood watch (Pic by Shane Atken / sxc.hu) WITH all the ongoing politicking, I thought it would be good for communities to focus on something else other than politics. One of the projects by the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) is aimed at tackling the issue of security within the city. To address security concerns […]
Columns
BN’s disrespect for democracy
By Jacqueline Ann SurinIN many ways, it was a privilege to be in the US when 9/11 happened. I was a journalist on a fellowship at the University of Maryland, College Park when the World Trade Centre came crashing down in an unexpected terrorist attack on American soil [1]. The privilege of being in the US then was […]
Mosquito mayhem
By Hafidz BaharomSPEND 10 minutes every week cleaning your house to avoid dengue and Chikungunya. Right. Ten minutes a week — a total of 520 minutes per household — could apparently have been enough to stop 108 people from dying of dengue, and 4,132 cases of Chikungunya in 2008. I first saw that public service ticker announcement […]
Taming the unelected
By Wong Chin Huat(Illustration by Nick Choo) AS we celebrate the first anniversary of the historic 8 March 2008 general election, our democratic institutions are now in danger of being attacked by unelected institutions. These include the palace, the bureaucracy, the police, the judiciary, and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC). And if the last and the most powerful […]
Pergolakan penentu masa depan insan
Oleh Rohana Ariffin(Source: myfreewallpapers.net) DULU saya sangat gemar membaca majalah Mad khususnya kartun Spy vs Spy di mana perisik putih mencari apa jua jalan menghentam perisik hitam. Perisik hitam juga membidas perisik putih bila terbuka peluang tanpa mengira etika mahupun penderitaan, asalkan menang. Kini, banyak pergolakan berpanjangan di luar negara dan nampaknya kian memuncak di Malaysia, termasuk […]
One, two, tree!
By Zedeck SiewJust begging to be climbed… (Source: arborsmith.com) THE Perak state assembly’s recent sitting, under the rain tree of a parking lot close to the Perak Darul Ridzuan complex, has been inspirational to many. Who would have thought politicians, with their natural inclination towards leisure, had the mettle to brave the late-morning sun in full regalia? […]
Making equality work
By Petra Gimbad“All persons are equal before the law and entitled to equal protection of the law.“ Federal Constitution, Article 8(1) “Except as expressedly […]
Perak today, Malaysia tomorrow?
By Wong Chin HuatCorrected on 6 March 2009 at 3.50pm (Corrected) PERAK was one of the biggest surprises after 8 March 2008. After some early difficulty in appointing the menteri besar (MB), the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) state government went on to perform well beyond expectations. The PR government has not only increased the state’s revenue by RM97 million or […]
Who watches the watchmen?
By Cindy Tham“QUIS custodiet ipsos custodes?” The Latin phrase from Roman poet Juvenal’s Satires is more popularly known today as “Who watches the watchmen?” The question kept repeating in my head as I surfed the numerous websites, read the articles and listened to the Comic Geek Speak podcasts that crowd the internet these days. They are part […]
Scaling the language barrier
By Wong Chin HuatTHE English language is now promoting interethnic unity in Malaysia, albeit unintentionally. Malay, Chinese and Tamil educationists who were once natural enemies have now joined forces to oppose the English for Teaching Mathematics and Science (ETeMS) policy. Politically, leaders in the Barisan Nasional (BN) are divided on whether to continue the policy, while the Pakatan […]
